After discovering a lump under her arm, Shakti went to the doctor, who confirmed the unthinkable: She had stage three breast cancer that had already begun to spread to her lymph nodes. Sadly, Shakti would have to have a single mastectomy and endure months of chemo and radiation.

What's interesting about this story, however, is how Shakti's doctor believes the cancer cells in her body caused a bitter taste in her breast milk that was likely unappetizing to baby Laila -- thus making her not want to feed on one breast.

It's so hard to imagine being hit with something so serious without warning. Like many nursing mothers, Shakti didn't think the lump was out of the ordinary. After all, who hasn't battled with a clogged milk duct that made you think there was cement under all that tissue?

I'm so thankful three years have passed since the discovery -- and Shakti is now cancer-free! As unthinkable as her experience must've been, the unknown came to light with enough time for this mom to get the treatment she needed before the cancer spread any more than it did. As a daughter of a parent who had cancer (my dad had an aggressive stage four kidney cancer, but thankfully continues to enjoy retirement), I'm grateful this story has a happy ending.